Street Racer || Yang Jungwon

°•♡•° / 67

—— Jungwon

I was sitting at the racing house, staring at the empty ramen cup in front of me. Sunghoon had left it there, and now it was cold and forgotten, much like the way I felt inside. I could hear the guys in the background, joking around and throwing their usual banter, but none of it registered with me. It hadn’t been the same since Seori disappeared from my life. No calls, no texts, nothing. It had been weeks since I last heard her voice, weeks since I felt whole.

I kept thinking back to the last time I saw her, how lost she seemed when we were in the car after the race. Something about the way she spoke that night haunted me. It was like she was saying goodbye without actually saying it, and that unsettled me more than anything else.

I was about to reach for my phone to check the time when a notification pinged. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her name on the screen. Seori. My Seori. For the first time in weeks, I was hearing from her. I opened the message without hesitation, my hands trembling slightly. But what I heard next... it sent a cold chill down my spine.

"Jungwon... I don’t know how to say this, but I need you to know that I love you... I’m sorry for not being strong enough to fight anymore..."

Her voice was fragile, broken, and each word cut through me like a blade. My mind raced as I listened to her words, the desperation, the finality. This wasn’t a normal message. This wasn’t just Seori being upset or frustrated. She was saying goodbye.

“No, no, no…” I muttered, my breath quickening.

She was about to do something. Something I couldn’t let her do. The rest of her message faded into a blur as panic took over. She was planning to end it all, and I had no idea where she was. But I knew one thing: I had to find her. I had to stop her before it was too late.

“Jungwon? You good, man?” Heeseung asked, noticing my sudden shift in demeanor.

I didn’t even respond. I grabbed my jacket and ran out of the racing house, dialing her mom’s number as fast as my fingers would allow. If anyone had a clue where Seori might be, it would be her.

“Hello?” Her mom’s voice came through, surprised to hear from me.

“Mrs. Choi, it’s Jungwon. I don’t have time to explain, but Seori’s in trouble. She sent me a voice message... I think she’s going to do something. Please, where could she have gone?”

The silence on the other end of the line felt like an eternity.

“What? What do you mean?” her mom sounded panicked now. “She’s in her room! She’s supposed to be in her room!”

“I don’t think she is. Please check. I need to find her.”

I could hear her mom’s hurried footsteps, her frantic breathing as she rushed up the stairs. I prayed I was wrong. I prayed Seori was just hiding in her room, but when I heard her mom gasp, I knew. She wasn’t there.

“She’s gone!” her mom cried out. “Oh my god, Jungwon, what do we do?”

“I think I know where she is,” I said, thinking fast. The bridge. She had told me about it once—how it was the only place she felt like disappearing. I had to get there. Now. “Meet me by the old bridge outside of town. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

I hung up before she could reply and sped to my car, my mind racing as fast as my heartbeat. Every second felt like a countdown to losing her, and I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let Seori slip away without trying to stop her. I loved her too much.